The New Cardcaptors
by digigirl132
Summary: 45 years later, The cards manage to get free again. But, this time, Sakura is too old to get the cards back. Can her granddaughter get them back before the world is destroyed? r+r please. chapter 8 up now!
1. Prologue

Author note: Just so you know, this version is different than the version on fanfiction.net. I'm going to replace all those chapters at once as soon as I finish revising them all. *sighs* man, I was such a crappy writer back when this was started…….Oh well, It's all part of the writing process!

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When the Seal is broken, a disaster will befall upon this world……

Many years shall pass, leaving much behind,

And all of the world very soon shall find,

In a time of chaos, sorrow and plight,

Though the card master will rise to fight.

But she, aged with time, trials and wear,

Will find the fight more than she can bear,

Though she, fighting with the hope of all,

She will be no match for the evil; she will fall.

From the ashes of defeat, wearing the friendship band,

A young girl will arrive to meet the challenge.

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Man, I always get nervous when I read that prediction. It was one that I never wanted to come, but then again I wanted to get it over with too. It was very dark and dreary, but it was so very right, in some sense. An evil did come, a very great evil. And it did almost destroy the world. But, Sakura beat it. We all thought that she had done it; she had fulfilled the prediction. But Sakura wasn't so sure about that, so she sealed me away with the book, and Yue went into hiding, creating another human host and leaving Yukito behind. I'll admit that I didn't like the thought of Sakura being without a guardian, but she was right. It was safer to seal the cards away. 

So, I sleep on, knowing that as long as the cards stayed sealed away, the world would be safe. It's a tough life, but somebody's gotta do it. But I do know that the day will come again when the book will be opened, and the cards will be used again. But, when will that day be? And, who will be the new master?


	2. chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Card captor Sakura, or any other show I may portray in this. I'm just a kid with a big imagination and a small amount of money. 

Chapter 1: the new card captor

A long time ago, a young woman named Sakura sealed away the magic of the world. She hoped that it's magic would never be used again. Now, many years have passed, and Sakura is no longer a young girl. So, on this day, she must pass the book into the guard of her young granddaughter, Sami. Sakura hopes that Sami will guard the book, and that all will remain in peace.

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Sami yawned. She had woken up early that Sunday morning, which was unusual for her. She didn't have school, so she always slept in on Sunday. But for some reason, she was just compelled to get up early. After she got dressed, she ran downstairs to eat breakfast with her mother and father. Sami said, "Hi!"

Sami's mom said, "That's strange. You are up early today."

Sami responded, "I know. Weird, huh?"

Sami's mom smiled. She said, "Well, it's a good thing, anyways. Your grandmother called today, and she said that she wanted you to come over as soon as you were done eating breakfast."

Sami suddenly shouted out, "Yippe!"

Sami loved going to her grandma's house. Her grandma was very kind, but fun at the same time. In fact, the only time Sami could remember her being unkind was when she touched a pink book about a year ago. Sami didn't take much notice to it, though. She began to run out the door when her mother called, "hey, aren't you forgetting something?"

Sami stopped and sweat dropped. She said, "Oh, right! Breakfast!"

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After a hurried breakfast, Sami roller bladed to her grandma's house. Her mom had said to her, "be home by 11 am, we have to leave," so Sami was going as fast as she could. She was very excited. She was so excited that she failed to notice that a bluenette was watching her from a nearby tree. As she skated by, the bluenette smirked and disappeared.

When Sami arrived at her grandma's house, her grandpa was out front. He looked relatively young for his age, Despite the small amount of wrinkles and flecks of gray in his brown hair. He smiled and says, "Hello, Sami. Your grandmother is in the library. Go ahead and go in. Just take off your roller blades first."

Sami took off her roller blades while she said, "Hi grandpa," and then ran inside. After putting her roller blades by the door, she ran to the library. Then she practically jumped down the stairs to the Library and looked around. She couldn't see her grandmother anywhere. Sami called out, "Where are you, grandma?"

A voice answered, "Over here in my secret corner."

Sami ran over to the secret corner. Her grandma, like her grandpa, didn't look very old. She had some gray hair and wrinkles, but still looked pretty young. She said, "I'm glad you came today. I have something to for you."

Sami watched intensively as her grandma pulled a book off a shelf. It was the same pink book Sami touched a year ago. Sami said, "Hey, it's that book! Why are you giving it to me?"

Sami's grandma said, "It's time for you to know a few things. I was about ten when I first saw a book similar to this. It turned out to be a book called the Clow. About two years later, it changed into this book. For many years, I protected this book. Now, I am too old to protect it anymore. I want you to protect it now."

Sami's grandma placed the book into Sami's arms. She continued, "It is very important that you never open the book. If it is opened, the cards will get free. So, it must remain closed, unless there is an emergency. But, if it is accidentally opened, you can use this to get the cards back."

Sami's grandma murmured a few words, and a pink key went flying at Sami. Sami caught it, wondering what it was. Sami's grandma said, "This is the star key. With the right words, you can change it into the star wand and you will be able to use the cards."

Sami said, "That's cool, but how do you know I'm the best choice for a guard for the book?"

Sami's Grandma smiled and said, "I trust that you will do fine. Grandmothers know these kind of things. And if you ever get into deep trouble, I am always here to help you."

Sami smiled. Somewhere in the house, a clock chimed ten thirty. Sami said, "Oh! I have to be home by 11!"

Sami's grandma said, "Well, you better hurry."

Sami rushed out the door, her grandma following her into the yard. Sami's grandpa saw the book Sami had, turned to Sami's grandma said, "Sakura, are you sure she is ready?"

Sakura (Sami's grandma) said, "Yes, Syaoran. I was two years younger than her when I first started to collect the cards."

"But Sami is not you," Syaoran said, "What if she is not ready?"

"I am sure. Sami has proven herself before, and she shall prove herself again," Sakura said.

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Sami's family had gone to Her cousin's house that day. Well, actually, it was her second cousin's house. Sami's parents were cousins with his parents. After being gone all day, Sami returned home and ran up to check on the book and cards. She turned pale when she saw that the book was now red instead of pink. She pulled the star key out of her pocket. It too had changed. Sami got really worried, so she decided to open the book, even though her grandma had told her not to unless it was an emergency. _"this is an emergency," _Sami thought, _"A book isn't supposed to change colors! Unless it's a book made out of color changing candy. But that's impractical!"_

Sami broke the seal on the book. Inside the book, there were cards with a weird circle pattern on them. She became interested in the cards and picked up the first one. It had the picture of a purple creature on it, and it sad 'The Dash' beneath the picture. She said, "Hmmmmmm, The Dash…."

Suddenly, a shape like what was on the back of the card began to glow underneath her. A purple creature came out of the card. It took one look at Sami, then it began to run around Sami's room. Eventually, it collided with Sami, causing her to drop the book. She quickly recovered and grabbed the purple creature before it could get away. It struggled to get free. Sami quietly said, "It's ok, I won't hurt you."

The animal calmed down. Then, it looked up and smiled at Sami. Sami said, "Will you turn back into a card?"

The animal turned back into a card. Sami smiled and looked back to the book. Her smile quickly faded as she saw what was happening. The cards had landed right in front of an open window, and they were quickly blowing away! Sami jumped up and tried to grab some of the cards before they all blew away. She managed to grab one called The Jump, but that's the only one she got. She watched sorrowfully as the cards all blew away. She went to go pick up the book, when a bright glow startled her. A yellow creature emerged from the book and said, "Hello Sakura! You sure look young! Man, your hair got long, too!"

Sami said, "My name isn't Sakura….. That's my grandma's name….."

The creature's face fell. He tried to smile and said, "well, my name is Kero, and I'm guardian of the Clow cards. What's your name?"

Sami said, "Sami."

Kero asked, "What's your surname?"

Sami answered, "Li."

Kero suddenly got mad. He said, "What?! Sakura married that guy?! I can't believe it!"

Sami jumped back in surprise. Kero looked at the book, which had fallen and closed after the cards left. He said, "It's the Clow book again, ….. That's weird."

Kero noticed that the seal was broken, so he looked inside. All of the cards were gone. He began to freak out. Kero then eyed Sami and said, "You irresponsible girl! You shouldn't have opened the book! Now we all are in grave danger! Hurry! Give me the cards before something bad happens!"

Sami was scared now. She should have listened to her grandma and left the book closed. Sami, who didn't want to be at the receiving end of a scolding from this small creature, gave him the card which she had caught before the wind blew away. Then, she walked over to where she dropped The Dash and gave it to him as well. He said, "Ok, where are the rest?"

Sami, trying to be as innocent as possible, said, "They all blew away."

Kero completely freaked out then. He said, "No! This is bad! Real bad! "

Sami said, "How bad?"

Kero said, "Very! If those cards remain loose for long enough, evil forces could use them for evil purposes! And besides that, now that they are out of the book, the evil one has been awoken!"

"The evil one?"

"Yes, the evil one! A long time ago, an evil force almost destroyed the world!"

"How awful!"

"It was! Luckily, Sakura managed to beat him. She sealed him away, then sealed the cards away. As long as the cards stay sealed away, he cannot gain power, so he cannot escape. But, now that the cards are free again, he could come back! We have to get those cards back as soon as possible!"

"How do we do that?"

Kero thought for a moment. Then, he said, "Do you have the Clow key?"

Sami pulled the key out of her pocket and said, "I used to have the star key, but it changed when the book did."

Kero said, "That'll work. Hold it out in front of you."

Sami did as he said. Kero then said, "Just say this: The key that hides the forces of Darkness, Show your true identity. I, Sami, command you under our contract! Release the seal!"

Sami repeated, "The key that hides the forces of Darkness, Show your true identity. I, Sami, command you under our contract! Release the seal!"

Suddenly, the floor began to glow again. The Key hovered a few inches above her hands, and it grew into a wand. Sami grabbed it when the glowing stopped. Kero said, "Remember those words, for they release the Clow wand. You will need it to catch the cards."

Sami said, "I am not so sure about this," as Kero gave her back the two cards. Kero said, "Well, you shouldn't have opened the book then. Besides, I'm sure you'll do fine."

Suddenly, they heard a sound form outside. They both looked out and saw a bunch of bubbles appear. Sami said, "Bubbles?!"

Kero said, "It's The Bubbles card! You have to catch it!"

"But I don't know how," Sami protested.

"Come on," Kero says as he dragged her out the door of her room and outside. They followed the stream of bubbles down the street. Then, they saw The Bubbles. They tried to get to it, but they weren't getting anywhere fast. Sami suddenly came up with an idea. Sami said, "Kero, does the Dash card make you fast?"

Kero nodded. Sami said, "What do you do to get a card to help you?"

Kero said, "You say: The card crafted by Clow, Give the power to my key. Bestow the power of the card unto my key. Grant unto me your powers! Either that, or you could just say what you want the card to do, then say it's name."  


Sami decided to do the latter of those two. She pulled out the Dash card and said, "Make me fast so I can catch The Bubbles, Dash!"

She hit the card with the wand and the card glowed. It suddenly zoomed to her feet. She grabbed Kero and started to run. Sami was now really fast. They eventually caught up with the card, which had been floating away while sending loads of bubbles at them to hinder their progress. Sami said, "What now?"

Kero said, "we need to trap it with another card!"

Sami said, "But I only have the Dash and the Jump!"

"Then use something else, the bubbles are getting too thick!"

Sami looked around for something else to use. She saw a rope. Sami yelled out, "I have an idea!"

Sami grabbed the rope and tied it to a post. She then ran around the Bubbles really fast (thanks to the Dash card) and tied up the Bubbles. The Bubbles tried to escape, but couldn't get free. Sami ran in front of it and said, "Ok, what now?"

Kero said, "look in your heart, and you will know!"

Sami closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them, she took the Clow wand in both hands and held it over her head. Sami said, "Return to the shape you were destined to be! Clow card!"

She brought the wand down to arm level with her. A bright light in the shape of a Clow card appeared at the end of the wand. The Bubbles began to turn into wisps of light and flew towards the end of the wand. When the light dimmed, the Bubbles was back in card form and the card few to Sami's hand. Sami smiled. She couldn't hold in her glee. She shouted out in joy, "Yippe! I got one of the cards back!"

Kero did the anime sweat drop and said, "Well done, but you got a long way to go before it's safe again."

Sami said, "Aww, don't be pessimistic. That's my job……….sorta. Anyways, when we get home, I'll get some cake and ice cream!"

"Cake and ice cream?! I'm there," Kero shouted out. He flew way ahead of Sami and said, "Hurry up, the cake is waiting!"

Sami began to run back home, going a lot slower without the aid of the Dash card. Kero waited for her to catch up, then raced her home. In the shadows, the blunette stood. He had seen the whole thing. He said, "What an odd girl. I was going to kill the brat and steal the cards from her, but it looks like she released them for me. I'll let her live a while longer. Hmm, this shall be interesting. "


	3. chapter 2

Sami was sleeping peacefully that next morning. The events from last night had tired her out. An alarm clock went off, but Sami didn't wake up. That didn't last for long, though. Kero picked up the alarm clock and shoved it in Sami's face. Sami woke up instantly. She said, "Ok, I'm up! Now let me go back to sleep."

Sami pulled the covers over her head as Kero said, "It's Monday. Don't you have school?"

"Yes, but I don't have to get up until seven," Sami responded. Kero looked at the clock and said, "I hate to burst your bubble, but it's 7:35."

Sami bolted out of bed and said, "Ahhhhhhhh! I'm going to be late!"

She got her stuff, ran downstairs and outside without even eating breakfast. She ran down the streets as fast as she could. She got to the school with exactly 55 seconds to get to her classroom. Right as she put her hand on the doorknob of her classroom, the bell rang. Sami wished to herself that she had gotten up earlier as she opened the door. As she walked in, the teacher said, "Looks like somebody slept in."

Sami said, "Sorry, Mr. Tomika."

Mr. Tomika said, "Take your seat, and we can begin."

Sami took her seat. After about 5 seconds, her stomach growled. Sami sweat dropped and thought, _"I wish I would have eaten breakfast………"_

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After a few boring hours of class, it was time for gym. Sami changed and headed outside to the soccer field. They were doing a soccer unit in gym. When she arrived, Terry confronted her. 

Terry is Sami's Grandma's brother's grandson, so he is kind of her cousin. He is quiet, and he isn't the type to be overly kind. He does have a weird sense of humor, though. 

Terry said, "I could tell that your mind was elsewhere yesterday, when you visited. What's up?"

Sami sweat dropped. It was just like Terry to be straightforward. "It's nothing really," Sami said, "Don't worry about it, ok?"

Terry eyed her accusingly. He said, "I never thought I'd have to use my spying expertise on my own cousin. But if you won't talk, that's what I'll have to do."

Terry walked over to his group of friends. Sami went and talked to her friends, Abby and Cassie. Abby is quiet and gentle. She never speaks out of turn, and she is kind to everyone. Cassie, on the other hand, is her polar opposite. Cassie is loud, and can be rude. She talks all the time. Cassie said, "Hey, why were you late today?"

"I slept in," Sami said, "So what?"

Cassie said, "Oh, nothing. Just wondering."

Sami asked, "Anything new?"

Abby said, "Um, I guess.."

Cassie said, "You bet! That cute boy in the other sixth grade class is going to be in the play this year, and I'm going to try out for the part of the princess. And then some boy…."

Sami didn't hear much after that. She felt something, and turned her head to the left. There she saw a bluenette standing alone, muttering something. He seemed to be watching her out of the corner of his eye. Sami heard Cassie say, "Sami?"

Sami snapped back to attention. She said, "Sorry, I guess I wasn't paying attention."

Cassie looked a little miffed. Sami pointed to the bluenette and said, "Who's that?"

Abby says, "He's a new kid. He just moved here last week. I think his name is Elliot. He's in our class."

Cassie said, "Yeah, I've seen him before. I'm surprised that you haven't, Sami. He sits right next to you, after all. He reminds me of my dad when he was little. I've seen pictures. You know…."

Sami's attention was again drawn to this boy. Something about him made Sami suspicious that he wasn't a normal boy. 

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Sami told Kero about this boy when she got home. "…And I don't know why, but I keep getting this weird feeling from him," Sami finished. 

Kero, who had listened carefully, said, "I bet this boy is more than he seems. What's his name?"

"I think its Elliot," Sami answered.

"Elliot huh," Kero said, "Well, be cautious. He could be an evil sorcerer come to steal the clow cards from you."

Sami sweat dropped. She said, "But Kero, the cards have only been loose for a day! He's been here since last week."

"Some sorcerers can see into the future," Kero said, "He could have been here for years waiting for this time."

Sami smiled and said, "Well, he won't have much to steal, I only have three clow cards anyways."

"Just be careful," Kero warned, "He could be dangerous."

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The next day, Sami made up her mind to talk to Elliot. When she got to school, she went right up to him and said, "Hi. My name is Sami."

Elliot said, "Hi."

"Your Elliot, right?"

Elliot nodded.

Sami, trying to make conversation, said, "Where did you move from?"

Elliot responded, "It's none of your business, but I moved here form Kyoto."

"Kyoto, huh," Sami said, "Was it cool there?"

Elliot said, "I guess so."

Right then, the bell ringed, and Mr. Tomika says, "Alright everyone, take your seats."

All through class, Sami kept thinking about Elliot. He seemed so withdrawn and sad. Sami thought to herself, "Maybe I can cheer him up. I know! I'll invite him to the picnic that my family and friends are having next Sunday! Maybe that will cheer him up."

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At the end of school, Sami ran to catch up with Elliot and said, "Are you doing anything on Sunday?"

Elliot shook his head. Sami said, "Great! Then you can come to the picnic I'm going on with my family."

Elliot looked surprised. He said, "Isn't that a family thing?"

Sami shook her head. She said, "All of our friends are coming. You can come too, if you want."

Elliot thought about it for a moment. He said, "Alright, I'll come."

Sami said, "Great! Where do you live?"

Elliot gave his address, and Sami said, "That's not too far from my house. Well, I have to go. See you Sunday."

As Sami ran off, Elliot muttered, "You will see me tomorrow, too. We are in the same class." 

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Sami ran home and told her dad that Elliot was coming to the picnic also. Her dad said, "Alright."

Sami ran upstairs to tell Kero. Kero was less than overjoyed. He said, "Sami, this could be dangerous. Getting strange vibes from someone you don't know is usually a bad thing. Inviting that person to a picnic, the most opportune time for him to attack you, is even worse. It could be dangerous."

"Kero," Sami whined, "You're being overprotective of me. I'll be ok."

Kero said, "I'm your guardian. It's my job to be overprotective."

Sami smiled. She said, "If it bothers you so much, you can come too. That way you will know that I will be alright."

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Later that night, Sami woke up to the sound of lightning. She sat up in bed and turned on he lamp. Suddenly, a really loud crash sounded, and the light went out. Sami screamed loudly. About a minute later, her father ran into the room. When he saw that Sami was fine, he said, "Don't worry, we just lost power. It will be back on soon."

He left the room and went downstairs. After he left, Kero popped out from under Sami's bed. He said, "Sami, look out the window."

Sami looked out and saw more lightning. She said, "I know it's a lightning storm."

Kero said, "Isn't something odd about it? Like for example, the lack of rain?"

Sami was just about to agree, when she felt something. It was the same feeling she got when she first sensed the bubbles card. She said, "Clow card?"

Kero nodded. He said, "I bet it's the work of the Thunder card. We better get moving."

Sami quietly slipped on some clothes, grabbed the clow cards she had (she always kept the clow key with her), and snuck downstairs. After her and Kero were safely outside, Sami said, "Where do we go?"

Kero said, "You will be able to sense where the Thunder is."

Sami closed her eyes for a second and tried to "feel" the card. Eventually, she could "feel" where it was. She cried out, "The river!"

Sami ran to the river, Kero following closely behind. When they arrived, they didn't see anything at first. "Where is it," Sami asked aloud.

Suddenly, a shot of lightning came flying at her. Kero yelled out, "Sami, watch out," and pushed her out of the way. Sami quickly got up and released the wand. She said, "What do I do?"

"Weaken it," Kero called out.

Sami thought for a moment. The Thunder shot more lightning at her. Sami moved out of the way, then came up with an idea. She pulled out the Jump card and said, "Give me the power to jump high, Jump!"

Sami hit the card with her wand, san little wings grew on her shoes. When the Thunder shot another lightning bolt at her, she easily jumped out of the way. Whenever the Thunder shot lightning bolts at her, she just jumped out of the way. Kero called out, "It won't tire! You have to do something!"

Sami thought about it. Then, she came up with an idea. She headed towards the river. Kero said, "What are you doing?!"

Sami called out, "I have an idea," and kept moving towards the river. When she was at the edge, she waited for the Thunder to catch up. Right when it saw her, she jumped onto the bank of the river on the opposite side. The Thunder jumped down into some shallow water and fired another lightning bolt at Sami. This time, it hit the water and zapped itself. Sami jumped up just in time. The blast weakened the Thunder card greatly. Sami came down right by it. She said, "Return to the form you were destined to be! Clow card!"

In a brilliant flash of light, the Thunder card returned to it's card form and flew to Sami. Sami caught it and said, "Alright! I got another card!"

Kero said, "You did well. Let's go home now, before your parents realize that you are missing."

Sami smiled and said, "Right."

They both raced home. Neither of them noticed the bluenette boy in the tree nearby. He muttered, "Yet again this girl as intrigued me. I think I shall watch some more of her battles before I make a decision about what to do with her," then disappeared into the shadows.

When Sami arrived back home, the power was back on. Sami sneaked upstairs and put her pajamas on. She crawled into bed just as her dad walked in. Sami pretended to be asleep, while Kero pretended to be a stuffed animal. Sami's dad turned off Sami's lamp and whispered, "Good night, Sami."


	4. chapter 3

Sami woke up the next morning late again. She rushed through getting ready for school while Kero was commenting about her being late for a second time this week. Sami tried to tell Kero she couldn't help it, but she had to speed to school. When she was almost there, she ran into Elliot. Sami said, "You're late too?"

Elliot nodded. He said, "I slept through my alarm."

They were both late. Mr. Tomika simply said, "I hope this isn't becoming a habit."

Elliot and Sami were both forced to suffer the humiliation of being late. To add to the humiliation, Sami had forgotten her homework. She just blushed and sat there. Sami occasionally glanced in Elliot's direction, and Elliot kept looking at her for some reason. Sami had to find out what his deal was.

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The rest of the week passed uneventfully. Sami kept thinking about Sunday. When Sunday finally came, Sami was really nervous. For some reason, she felt that she had to impress Elliot. Sami suddenly said aloud, "Maybe this is a bad idea, I'm too nervous…."

Her father had heard her. He said, "What, bringing your friend with us? Well, maybe it's just because you have a crush on him."

Sami blushed and said, "I don't have a crush on him……."

After breakfast, Sami took some pancakes up to Kero. As he was eating, Sami said, "Ready to go soon?"

Kero, with a mouthful of pancakes, said, "Argh youg ser ai woan beh seanh?"

Sami sweat dropped and said, "Would you mind saying that without your mouth full of food?"

Kero nodded and swallowed his pancakes. He said, "Boy, I love pancakes! What I said was, are you sure I won't be seen?"

Sami said, "I can hide you. I just thought that it might be good for you if you get out. And Elliot is going to be there. You can check him out and see if he is good or not."

Kero nodded and went back to his pancakes. Sami wondered if she should bring her Clow cards, just in case a Clow card showed up or something. When she relayed this idea to Kero, he said, "It might be a good idea. You never know. This Elliot kid may be good, or he may be bad. Plus, we might see some Clow cards while we are there."

Sami smiled and says, "Kero, why do you think that Elliot might be a bad guy?"

Kero solemnly said, "Gotta be careful. With the cards loose again, evil people all over the world will be flocking here to get some of that power. And in my experience, I have found that the innocent looking one is always the one causing trouble."

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At about eleven, they went to get Elliot. Kero and the Clow cards were hidden in her backpack. Elliot sat next to Sami and said, "Good morning."

Sami said, "Hi. You ready to have fun?"

Elliot shrugged his shoulders. He said, "I guess."

Sami and Elliot didn't talk much for the half hour drive to great uncle Toya's(1) cabin. At the cabin, Terry waited for them. He said, "Hey, Sami! Who's your friend?"

Sami smiled and said, "Hey, Terry. This is Elliot."

Elliot said, "Greetings."

Terry eyed Elliot suspiciously, but didn't say anything. Instead, he ran back over to his group of friends. Sami grabbed Elliot's arm and said, "Come on, you have to meet my friends!"

Sami dragged Elliot over to where her friends Cassie and Abby. Sami said, "Elliot, meet my friends Cassie and Abby. Cassie and Abby, this is Elliot."

Cassie and Abby both said, "Hey."

Cassie continued by saying, "Nice to meet you. You know, you look just like my father when he was little. I have seen pictures. I bet…."

Sami smiled as she watched the scene unfold around her. For a short while, she was a normal girl spending a normal Sunday with friends and family. Then, a slight chill picked up. Abby shivered and said, "It's cold today."

"Of course," Cassie said, "It's September. What do you expect? You know, My Mommy once told me that it got cold because…"

Sami didn't listen to her friends rambling past that. Right then, she got that feeling again, like a Clow card was near. She turned her head towards the lake. She could have sworn she had seen something soaring over the lake…….

Sami looked to her left, where Elliot was standing. He seemed focused on whatever was soaring over the lake also. Sami turned back to the lake, and whatever had been there disappeared. The next moment, Cassie said, "Sami! Man, you and Elliot are both bad listeners!"

Sami quickly said an apology and ran towards the lake. Cassie called out, "Sami! Where are you going?"

Sami hoped that nobody followed her. When she was closer to the lake, Kero popped his head out of Sami's backpack and said, "A Clow card, right?"

Sami said, "Right! It's by the lake!"

Sami stopped running when she reached the edge of the lake. She changed the Clow key to the Clow wand and waited for the card to show itself. After a minute, the card appeared on the end of the lake to Sami's right side. She ran down to where it was. When she got closer, she saw that it looked like…….

"A bird?" Sami questioned. Kero said, "It's the Fly card! Be careful!"

The Fly card began to Fly into the woods. Sami tried to keep up with it, but it was too fast. Sami pulled out the dash card and said, "Make me fast so I can keep up with the Fly card, Dash!"

Sami hit the Dash card with the Clow wand, and she became faster. Now she was able to keep up with the Fly card. By now they had entered the woods, and they had to dodge the trees. Eventually, the Fly card turned around and stopped. Sami thought, _"What card do I use to weaken the Fly? The Bubbles won't work, and neither will the Jump. The Dash will just help me keep up….of course! The Thunder!"_

Sami pulled out the Thunder card and said, "Weaken the Fly, Thunder!" 

Lightning shot out at the Fly. It hit the Fly and made it fall to the ground. Sami stood in front of it and said, "Return to the form you were destined to be! Clow card!"

Sami swung the Clow wand until it was level with her, and the outline of a card formed. The Fly card began to turn to strands of light, and flew to where the outline of the card was. When the light stopped, the Fly card went to Sami. Sami grabbed it and smiled. Kero looked around and said, "Good job, but how are we going to get out of these woods?"

Sami's face fell as she realized that she was lost. She said, "Well, we just go back the way we came."

They started to walk in the direction that Sami thought they had come from. But, this wasn't such a good idea. After walking for what felt like days, Sami sat down on the ground and said, "Ahhhhhhhhhhh! I can't get out of these woods!"

Kero sweat dropped and said, "Well, it was your idea to come this way."

"I know," Sami said, "But I don't know which way is which! I give up! We'll never get out of here!"

A voice from above her said, "Don't give up. There is always a way out. Try using the cards."

Sami looked up and said, "Who's there?"

The voice said, "I …Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

A figure fell out of a tree near Sami. Sami stood up and ran to it. When she got there, she saw that it was Elliot. Sami said, "Elliot! What are you doing here?"

Elliot, while rubbing his head, said, "That Cassie girl is insane. I couldn't stand her prattle any longer. So, I decided to follow you. After a while, I couldn't keep up with you, so I decided to go back. But then I realized that I didn't know where I was, so I climbed this tree in hopes that I would see the cabin, but we are still to far away. Then, I got distracted and fell out."

Sami thought it was a good explanation, but Kero looked mad. He said, "Just who do you think you are?!"

Elliot stared at Kero for a second, then he stood up and said, "Calm down. I'm just me. It is hard to pretend to be someone else, you know."

Sami said, "You mentioned the cards. How do you know about them?"

"Everyone in the magical community knows about the cards. Of course, they all think that they are still Star cards," was Elliot's response. Sami said, "You have magic powers too?"

Elliot nodded. Sami said, "That's great!"

Elliot sweat dropped, unsure of how to react to Sami's exuberance. Kero, on the other hand, was studying Elliot. The former eventually said, "You look very familiar for some reason……"

Elliot said, "My family is a pretty powerful family. You might have known one of my ancestors."

Sami nodded. She said, "We can talk about this later. Right now we have other things to worry about. Like getting out of these woods, for example."

Elliot looked around for a moment. He then said, "It would be smart to use the cards to get out of here. What cards do you have?"

"The Dash, the Jump, the Fly, the Bubbles, and the Thunder," Sami answered, "Why?"

Elliot thought for a moment, then said, "You can use the Fly to get to the edge of the woods, then you can walk the rest of the way."

"That's a great idea," Sami said while pulling out the Fly card. She released it, then got on and held out a hand for Elliot. Elliot shook his head. Sami said, "Why not?"

"I can walk," Elliot said. Sami frowned at him, then got an idea.

------------------------------

A short while later, they were in the air. Sami, with a big smile on her face, said, "This is so great!"

Elliot, who was sitting behind Sami and holing onto her waist for dear life, said, "I…don't...like…high…heights!"

Sami giggled. She had forced him on by grabbing his arm and flying up high. Then he was more than willing to cooperate. Though he had started to hyperventilate as they flew to the edge of the woods. _"Man," _Sami thought, _"Who would have thought that Elliot was afraid of heights?"_

When they landed at the edge of the woods, Elliot was more than glad to get off. He immediately started to hyperventilate. Between breaths, he managed to say, "I'm….never…going…to do…that again!"

Sami smiled and said, "You may not be able to help it," Sami looked to the west and saw that the sun was setting, "Come on, we better run. We have been gone all afternoon."

Elliot stood up and straightened his glasses. He nodded and followed Sami. After walking for a while, they finally met up with someone: Sami's grandpa Syaoran. Sami introduced them, then Elliot said, "I am sorry for keeping Sami busy all day."

Syaoran said, "I don't believe that it was your fault. Unless, of course, you were controlling the Fly card."

Elliot quickly shook his head. Syaoran said, "Didn't think so. But Sami, I am worried about your irresponsibility with the cards. So is your grandmother."

Sami said, "But grandpa! It was an emergency! The book had turned red, and the key had changed as well!"

Syaoran shook his head. He said, "Sami, did it ever occur to you that you could **call **us?"

Sami didn't respond right away. Syaoran sighed and turned to Elliot. He said, "I know you have powers. Sami can't do this alone, and I can tell that you two get along at least somewhat. Would you help Sami in recapturing the cards?"

Elliot looked very surprised. "I do have magic skill," Elliot responded, "But I don't have anything like a Clow wand to aid me in using my magic."

Syaoran thought about it for a second, then pulled something out of his pocket. He said, "Here, you can have my sword."

He gave it to Elliot. Elliot looked awe-struck. He said, "But Li-san, I cannot accept such a gift."

Syaoran smiled and said, "Sure you can. You need to help Sami. I'm too old to go on a Clow card catching adventure again. I'm sure you will find a good use for it."

Elliot was about to protest, but Sami whispered, "Just take it. When grandpa sets his mind to something, he won't change it."

Elliot finally said, "Alright, I agree."

"Good," Syaoran said, then he turned to Kero. Syaoran said to Kero, "Keep an eye on them. They will get into trouble at some point."

Sami said, "Shouldn't we be getting back?"

Syaoran nodded and took them back to the cabin. When they got back, everyone was so glad to see that they were safe. Sami's mom said, "I was so worried that you had gotten lost or kidnapped!"

Sami said, "I'm ok, and so is Elliot."

Sami's mom smiles and said, "That's good."

Terry stood to the side, looking pissed for some reason. Abby and Cassie were glad that Sami was ok, but pestered her as to what she was doing. "Come on," Cassie pestered, "If you and Elliot were kissing, we understand. Just tell us."

Sami and Elliot turned bright red. Sami said, "We were not kissing."

Cassie looked skeptical and said, "Sure you weren't…"

--------------------------------

After dinner, everyone headed home. Sami talked quietly with Elliot along the way. After all, Sami's parents didn't know about the cards yet. Sami explained to Elliot how she got the Clow cards and how they got loose. Elliot listened patiently as she told him. When she finished, he said, "Sounds like you have a lot of work to do."

Sami nodded. She said, "I'm glad you aren't one of the bad guys. Kero kept saying to be cautious of you and was acting like you would kill me or something."

Elliot smiled slightly and said, "No way. You are nice. I wouldn't hurt you."

She smiled and thought, _"he's nice. I can't believe Kero actually thought that Elliot would try to hurt me. I know Kero was just being cautious, but still……"_

---------------------------------

Sami got ready for bed while she said, "Kero, how long do you think it will take me to get all the cards back?"

"I dunno," Kero said, "It took Sakura over a year. It depends on how often the cards appear. Hopefully it won't take long."

"What happens when I get all the cards," Sami asked. "Well," Kero answered, " Nothing really special happens. You just get bragging rights. After you get all the cards back, I think that it would be best to just seal them away again."

"Yeah," Sami said. She gazed out the window for a moment, looking at the moon and stars. Her grandma had always liked the stars. Sami, on the other hand, was more partial towards the moon. Sami then said, "Alright! I'm going to bed."

Sami fell asleep right as her head hit the pillow. Kero, however, was up a little longer. He looks out the window, staring at the stars. He said quietly, "I really do hope it doesn't take long. Before we know it, the Dark Sorcerers will be here, and they will just make things worse. Hmm, I wonder how Sami will keep her identity a secret then…."

-------------------------------------------

Notes: 

(1): I know that there are several spellings for his name, so I'm just gonna use the one from my CCS graphic novels *proudly holds up graphic novels 2-4*


	5. chapter 4

Sami woke up early on Monday. She was a little tired, but got ready for school. When Kero saw what Sami was up, he said, "Are you going to a party tonight?"

Sami groggily said, "Why would I?"

Kero flew over to a calendar and pointed to the date. He said, "It's Cassie's birthday!"

---------------------------

Sami ran downstairs to the kitchen. Sami's mom said, "good morning. I made eggs and toast today."

Sami grabbed her plate and ate breakfast. After breakfast, Sami grabbed the Clow cards she had and stuck them in her backpack. After yesterday, she didn't leave home without them. As she ran out the door, her mother called out, "have fun. And don't forget about the party tonight at Cassie's house!"

--------------------------

At school, Cassie couldn't stop talking about her birthday party. She just kept blabbing and blabbing about it. Sami took her seat and said, "Who all is going to be there?"

Cassie said, "You, Abby, Terry, my mom made me invite him, (the list goes on for quite some time) and I was going to ask Elliot if he wanted to come."

Sami saw him walk in the door. Sami said, "I'll ask him."

Elliot took his seat behind Sami, and Sami asked, "Elliot, Cassie is having a birthday party tonight. Want to come?"

Elliot, who looked a little sleep-deprived, wearily said, "Why?"

Cassie, who was in earshot, got very angry. She hit Elliot on the head with a mallet that she got from some random place. Elliot said, "Itai!(1) What was that for?!"

"For insulting me," Cassie said, "Now are you going to come to my party or not?!"

A now very awake Elliot sweat dropped and said, "Sure."

Sami said, "Great!"

Elliot then suddenly remembered something. He looked around to make sure nobody was listening, then whispered to Sami, "Meet me at lunch on top of the building."

Sami was about to ask why, but right then, Mr. Tomika said, "Alright class, settle down. It's time to begin our lesson."

-----------------------------------

At lunch, Sami went to the top of the school building. She saw Elliot standing at the end of the building facing towards the area where everyone was. She said, "What's wrong?"

Elliot said, "A Clow card made its presence known last night."

Sami looked surprised. Elliot continued, "I tried to find out as much as I could. It burnt down several trees in the park. We have to go there tonight after Cassie's party and capture it. I already went to Li-san, and he gave me these," Elliot held up some spell tags, "Since we don't know what card this is, we must be on our guard. You can't get overconfident. So, keep your eyes out."

Elliot walked back inside and downstairs to eat lunch, leaving Sami standing there dumbstruck. 

Sami relayed all the information to Kero after school. Kero said, "He really tried to find out as much as he could about this card?"

Sami nodded and said, "That's what he said. He even went to Grandpa for advice."

"He's really smart then," Kero said, deep in thought, "much smarter than Sami…"

Sami glared at Kero and said, "I am smart!"

"Then why didn't you sense the card last night?"

"I was tired!"

"No excuses! You should be extra careful in times like this. Who knows when evil will strike!"

"Shut up, Kero!"

--------------------------------------

Elliot sat as his desk, the sword and spell tags laid out in front of him. He looked at them for a while, then said, "Hmm, I wonder….Now that I have met her, it seems harder to complete my mission. I think I shall wait. Acting now would be foolish. And Sami is really nice……..no! I cannot let my emotions get in the way of my mission!"

----------------------------------------

At five, Sami was ready to party. She had her new party dress (red with a star on the collar) that her grandma had given her on, and her Clow cards with her in a side bag. Of course, she had her usual braid in her hair. She didn't know if Elliot was going to show up at the party or not, but she hoped that he would. She wanted to get to know him better. She called to her dad, "I'm ready to go," and ran downstairs.

Her father said, "That's a pretty dress Grandma gave you," when he saw how Sami looked.

Sami smiled and said, "let's go."

-----------------------------------

Sami arrived at the party at 6 o'clock pm. Cassie, upon Sami's arrival, said, "Hi Sami! Come on, we all are out back!"

Sami headed out back, and saw practically the whole school there. Luckily Cassie was very rich and had a very large backyard, or else everybody wouldn't have fit. Abby waved to Sami, and Sami went over to her. Abby said, "Is Elliot coming?"

Sami said, "I'm not completely sure, but I think he is."

Right about then, he heard some boys say, "Look at that loser!"

Sami turned to the path from the front yard and saw Elliot wearing a brown suit with brown shoes and a tie. Everybody else had worn casual clothes. Sami waved to Elliot, and Elliot reluctantly walked over to where she and Abby were standing. Sami said, "Hi Elliot. What's new?"

Elliot said, "I had to wear a suit to a casual birthday party."

Sami, in an effort to cheer Elliot up, said, "I think it looks good."

That made Elliot smile a little. He muttered thanks and didn't say much after that. Sami and Elliot tried to have a good time, but it was hard with everyone staring at them. At 6, Cassie opened her birthday presents and everyone had cake and ice cream. It was starting to get dark, so Cassie said, "Let's light the torches, so we can see."

Suddenly, the torches, which were only supposed to burn a little, were engulfed in flames. Everyone started to scream. The screaming stopped after the torches were doused. Sami and Elliot looked at each other. They had both felt the presence of a Clow card when the torches had burst into flames. Sami glanced at one of the light posts and saw that it had burst into flames as well. Then, Sami ran out to the sidewalk, Elliot not far behind. They both saw that lights all down the street were bursting into flames. So, they ran down the street, following the bursting lights all the way to the park. Elliot, though, was faster, so he ran ahead of her. Sami struggled to keep up. A few minutes later, Sami ran to the park. She tried to sense the card, but she couldn't. She thought to herself, "Where is it? And where is Elliot?"

Suddenly, there was a bright blast of fire from an area not too far away, fowled by a yell from Elliot. Sami, fearing the worst, ran as fast as she could. She got to where the card was, and saw Elliot, slumped on the ground and passed out, at the foot of a tree near the card. He clothes looked pretty singed. Sami said, "Hey! Leave Elliot alone!"

The card turned and faced Sami. Sami thought, "Oh great."

Sami released the Clow wand and said, "Stop that card, Thunder!"

She hit it with the Clow wand, and the Thunder ran at the Firey. It tried to electrocute it, but the Firey easily blocked it. Then it attacked the Thunder, and it turned back into a card and returned to Sami. Sami said, "What's wrong?"

Suddenly, Sami her a familiar voice say, "Sami!"

Sami turned and saw that Kero had arrived. Sami said, "Kero! How did you get here?"

Kero took a breath and said, "I felt the presence of a card, so I came to it. The card you are fighting is the Firey. Originally, when Clow Reed made all the Clow cards, he made four of them stronger than the rest. These cards, the Earthy, the Windy, the Watery, and the Firey, are called the elemental cards, since they are based on the four elements of life. This is going to be your toughest battle yet."

"Is that it," Sami said, "The Firey card is stronger, so that's why it easily beat the Thunder?"

Kero nodded. The Firey card got ready to attack Sami. Sami pulled out the Fly card and said, "Let me fly high, Fly!"

Sami hit it with the Clow wand, and wings grew on the wand. Sami hopped on and flew up high. She thought, "It can't reach me now!"

Sami was very surprised when the Firey card flew up and followed her. She flew around the park, trying to keep ahead of the Firey while dodging the fire blasts from the Firey card. Kero called out, "Sami! You can't keep this up forever!"

Eventually, Sami landed and pulled out the Bubbles card. "If it can't see me," Sami said, "It can't attack me. Make it bubbly so that the Firey can't see me, Bubbles!"

Sami hit it with the Clow wand, and it made a thick fog of bubbles. Sami could see that the Firey was firing fire blasts all over, but couldn't see Sami. Sami could sense the card, though. She snuck up on the card, and said, "Firey card…."

She didn't get to finish, because the Firey card did an about face and shot a fire blast at Sami. Sami dodged it and hid in the thick bubbles again. She thought for a moment. She then said to herself, "If I can use the Dash card to confuse it, then maybe I could catch it!"

Sami pulled out the Jump card and said, "Let me be fast, Dash!"

Sami hit it with the Clow wand. She then yelled, "bet you can't catch me," at the Firey and began running around it. The Firey looked around, getting confused. Eventually, Sami jumped up on a wall. She stopped and said, "Return to the form you were destined to be! Clow card!"

She swung the Clow wand forward, and a card shape appeared at the end. The Firey turned into wisps of light and flew at the card shape. After a while, it was in card form. Sami had caught her first elemental card! After it flew at her and she caught it, she lost her balance and fell backwards. Right before she hit the ground, someone caught her. Sami looked up into the face of Elliot. He looked weary. Sami said, "Elliot…..are you ok?"

Elliot nodded and helped Sami sit down. He then sat down too. He said, "I was way overpowered. When I tried to fight the Firey, it drained all my magic power. I think I passed out at one point. When I became conscious again, I saw the light from you and the card fighting, so I made my way over here. Are you ok?"

Sami nodded. Kero said, "Well, at least you guys succeeded in stopping the card. I'm impressed."

Both Sami and Elliot smiled. Elliot said, "Well, should we go back to the party before Anyone notices that we are gone?"

Sami nodded, then said, "Won't people notice that your clothes and hair are singed?"

Elliot said, "Well, they might notice it in my clothes, but my hair might be alright. It is dark blue, after all, and black doesn't stand out well on it."

Sami and Kero stared at Elliot. He sweat dropped and said, "You guys can't take a joke, can you?"

"Lame," Kero said, "That's the only word for that 'joke.' Lame."

Elliot glared at Kero. He said, "And you can tell a better one?"

The argument continued as Sami watched. She sweat dropped and said, "This could go on for a while…."

Nobody noticed the bluenette standing in the tree nearby. He muttered to himself, "This just gets more and more interesting. I never expected Li Sami to make an ally out of my brother. Hmm, let's see how things shall turn out."

----------------------------

(1) Itai means ouch or owie. ^^ I love that word!


	6. chapter 5

Several weeks after the capture of the Firey, Kero was talking to Sami. While they were talking, Sami was getting ready for school. "It's been a few weeks since the last Clow card appeared," Sami said, "could they have gone someplace else?"

Kero said, "I wouldn't worry. They are still around. We just have to look more carefully."

Sami sighed and said, "I don't know, but I will take your word for it. After all, you are the guardian beast."

Sami stuck the Clow cards in her backpack, and put the Clow key on. For some time now, it had been a habit of hers to keep the Clow cards with her at all times. She didn't want to get caught off guard when a Clow card attacked. She grabbed her backpack while Kero said, "Relax, it's not the end of the world." 

"Alright. See you later," Sami said as she ran downstairs and out the door.

----------------------

Sami met up with Elliot and walked to school. Along the way, they talked about how the Clow cards hadn't made their presence known for a while. "Hmmmm," Elliot said, "I think that maybe they are hiding. By capturing the Firey, you have proved that you have great power. It's not very easy to capture an elemental card. This might have frightened the other Clow cards. We must keep our eyes open and watch out for anything unusual."

Right then, Terry came running around the corner. "Speaking of unusual," Sami muttered.

"Did you hear," Terry said, "the principle took maternity leave and is in the hospital. She's going to have her baby soon!"

"Well I knew that," Sami said, "I have a feeling that there is more."

Terry smirked and said, "Yup. I know who is going to take her place until next year. It's some guy named Mr. Sagami. He looks really young, too."

"Sagami," Sami said, "Sagami Yutaro?"

Terry nodded. Sami said, "Awesome! Mr. Sagami is going to be the principle here? That must mean his family has moved to Tokyo!"

Terry and Elliot stared at Sami for a while. Then, Terry said, "you know this guy?"

Sami nodded. She said, "Mr. Sagami and my dad are friends from their college years. He and his son, Sigeru, visit us a lot," Sami blushed and went all starry-eyed, "Sigeru is the nicest, cutest, smartest, coolest guy ever!"

Elliot frowned. Terry noticed this, got a gleam in his eye, and said, "What's wrong, Elliot? Jealous?"

"Of course not," Elliot said while shaking his head and blushing furiously, "I just don't want a kid who's smarter than me in our class!"

Sami giggled and said, "You are really worried about that? You don't need to be. He's a high school junior."

Elliot breathed a sigh of relief. Sami turned to Terry and said, "How do you find these things out?"

Terry grinned and said, "I have sources. I can find out anything!"

Sami and Elliot both sweatdropped and said, "Interesting….."

They kept walking to school. With Terry in tow now, they couldn't talk about the Clow cards. Instead, Sami asked Elliot, "What's your family like?"

"Well," Elliot said, "I have a father and mother, an older brother, and my grandfather also lives with us. My brother's name is Eriol, like my grandfather. Actually, he's Eriol the 3rd, since my father and grandfather both have the same name. It's a kind of tradition in our family for the oldest son to have the same name as their father. My brother is 17. Originally, my grandfather lived in England, but when he came to Japan on an exchange trip, he fell in love with my grandmother. They got married and moved to Kyoto. I've lived there all my life, up until now. Same for my brother and father. The cost of living was too high there, so we moved here. That was about a month and a half ago."

Terry said, "Interesting past…."

"I guess," Elliot said, "It's just me, my brother, Mother, Father, and Grandfather."

"Why does your grandfather live with you," Sami asked. Elliot said, "Well, he's been kinda messed up ever since grandma died. He can't live on his own, so he lives with us. My Father took it as his responsibility, seeing as how he's the only one of his siblings left alive now."

"Wow," Sami said, "Sounds like your family has some problems."

Elliot nodded. As they walked into the school courtyard, they saw a group of kids gathered around a sign. Sami, Elliot, and Terry ran up to it. Elliot, who was the tallest, read the sign, "On November 29th, there will be a school wide arts competition. Anyone above second grade is eligible to enter. First prize will be 12,110 yen (about 100 American dollars). Second prize: 6,050 yen (about 50 American dollars) and third prize: 3,025 yen (about 25 American dollars). Entries must be received by November 19th, or you cannot enter. The judges will be several teachers from the school. Good luck to all."

Sami said, "That sounds like fun!"

Elliot looked skeptically at Sami and said, "Do you even know how to do art?"

Sami nodded and said, "Yup! I know watercolors and sketching!"

Elliot shrugged and said, "Well, that's alright. Let's sign up."

-------------------------------

By the 10h, 43 students signed up, including Abby, which surprised everyone. Abby kept saying, "I know how to paint a little," but Sami had a hard time believing her. Never once in Abby's life had she ever shown that she knew any kind of art. Sami began to wonder when she had been taught to paint, when Mr. Tomika said, "Our class isn't focused outside, Sami. It's focused inside."

Everyone laughed as Sami snapped back to attention and she noticed that she had been looking out the window. It was getting colder fast, and soon it would begin to snow. Mr. Tomika said, "Now, as I was saying, today we are going to the library. We need to pick a book to do a book report on."

Everyone headed of to the library. Sami was having a hard time picking a book, since she was a big fan of fantasy books. So were Abby and Cassie, but Cassie didn't like to admit it. She was a popular person, and she wasn't supposed to like reading. Elliot wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and he ran into the end of a bookshelf. Sami giggled as he straightened his glasses and said, "I thought I saw something over there."

He pointed to the far corner of the library, behind a shelf that made it hardly visible. Sami heard a screech, and saw someone fall to the ground. Just as they were about to run over there, a small blue thing flew out of there and around a corner. Sami ran to see who had screeched. When she rounded the corner of the bookshelf, she saw Cassie, passed out and on the floor. Sami checked her vital signs, and discovered that she was just sleeping. Sami heard Elliot run up behind her and say, "It's a Clow card!"

"I know," Sami said, "And it looks like it puts people to sleep, too."

"The Sleep," Elliot said, "Most likely."

Sami got up and started running back to the table where her backpack was. Elliot said, "We can't go that way! If it makes you fall asleep, who will catch it?"

"The Clow cards are in my backpack," Sami protested, "I need to get them!"

By now, the Sleep card had flown around most of the library and made everyone else fall asleep. Elliot said, "I'll go get them. You wait here."

Elliot looked around to see if the Sleep card was coming, and then bolted to Sami's backpack. He pulled out the cards and began running back to Sami, but he stopped and said, "Watch out, it's behind you!"

Sami turned around and saw the Sleep card heading at her. She ran to Elliot, then dragged him behind a bookcase. She then transformed the Clow key to the Clow wand and took the Clow cards from Elliot. She said, "We have to outsmart it."

Elliot nodded and said, "I can use my fire incantation to burn up the little particles that the Sleep card is dropping. Then, while it's caught off guard, you can catch it. Get ready."

Sami nodded and waited while Elliot changed his charm to it's sword form. Then, he stepped out from behind the bookcase and said, "Sleep card, over here!"

Sami ran to the end of the bookcase and got ready. She saw the Sleep card fly at Elliot and drop the blue sparkles. Elliot pulled out the incantation and said, "Fire!"

Fire shot out of it, and burned up the blue sparkles. Just then, the Sleep flew around him, trapping him in a tornado of blue sparkles. He tried to use the incantation again, but he wasn't fast enough. He fell to the ground, asleep. Then the Sleep looked at Sami and flew at her. She ran out from behind the bookcase, and across the library to another bookcase. She waited for the Sleep to get to her. When she could see it, Sami pulled out the Firey and said, "Firey, grab hold of the Sleep so that it can't put me to sleep! Firey!"

Sami hit it with the Clow wand, and the Firey came out and grabbed the Sleep card just as it dropped some of the blue stuff on Sami. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make her drowsy. She brought the Clow wand overhead, and with the last of her strength, she said, "Return to the form you were destined to be! Clow card!"

Sami brought the Clow wand down in front of her, and the shape of a Clow card formed. The Sleep card turned into wisps of light, and flew at the card shape. When the lights stopped, the Sleep card went to Sami. Sami said, "I did it, I got the Sleep….card……"

Right then, Sami passed out. The Firey card caught her, and laid her down gently on the ground. It then turned back into a card, and with all of the other cards, including the Sleep, flew back into Sami's backpack.

--------------------------------------

Some time later, Elliot shook Sami awake. He said, "Sami, wake up!"

Sami groggily said, "What….."

"It's almost two," Elliot answered, "What happened? Did the Sleep card get away?"

Sami shook her head and told him what happened. They both walked back to Sami's backpack, where she saw that the cards were in her backpack. Nobody else was awake yet. Suddenly, the Sleep card flew out of Sami's backpack and floated at eye level with Sami. In a quiet voice, it said, "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble."

Sami smiled and said, "It's alright."

Elliot, who had been surveying the situation, looked at Sami and said, "What's alright?"

Sami pointed at the Sleep card and said, "It said it was sorry, and I said that it was ok."

Elliot got a confused look on his face and said, "You can understand what the Clow cards say?"

Sami nodded. "Sometimes they talk to me before I go to bed at night. The Bubbles card likes to tell all of us stories."

Elliot just stared at her. He said, "When did you learn how to understand what the Clow cards say?"

Sami said, "It just happened, right after I caught the Bubbles. All you have to do is quiet your mind, and you can hear them talking."

"Well, let's talk about this later," Elliot said, "The class is starting to wake up."

Sami nodded and went to help the class wake up and get going. The Sleep card went back into Sami's backpack. Sami kept thinking about how surprised Elliot was to find out that Sami could understand the Clow cards. Was it really that strange? When Mr. Tomika woke up, he said, "Hurry up and choose your books. We will go back to the classroom and begin our math lesson."

Sami ended up choosing a book about dragons. Cassie ran up to Sami and showed her a book. It had no title on the cover, but instead it had a green starburst. Cassie said, "It's a book about a wizard! And it looks so cool!"

Right then, the principle came in with the local police. He talked to Mr. Tomika, and then said, "Head back to your classroom now, the police are going to examine the area."

They all headed back to class, with Sami wondering if any other Clow cards were hidden in the school.

------------------------------------

When Sami told Kero what had happened, he looked impressed. "You managed to outsmart the Sleep card," he said, "That's pretty good. Now you have seven cards."

Sami sat down on her bed and said, "Only nineteen more days….I can't wait!"

Kero said, "For what, the art competition?"

Sami nodded. She said, "That reminds me, I still have to make an entry for that…"

Kero sweatdropped.

--------------------------------

The next day, Elliot had some startling news. "One of the kids got hurt really badly last night. He was in the park, and he saw Abby. He went to go talk to her, and she beat the crap out of him!"

Sami, who is very surprised, said, "Whoa, I never knew she had it in her."

Elliot said, "I think there might be another force at hand."

"What could it be? A Clow card," Sami asked. Elliot nodded. He said, "Well, at least I think it might be. Let's get going to the park so we can check it out."

---------------------------

Some time later, Elliot, Sami, and Kero arrived at the park. It didn't take long to find Abby, since there was a crowd of people around her. Elliot said, "We have to keep the other people from seeing."

Sami said, "I can do that," as she pulled out the Sleep card. She said, "Sleep card, make everyone except Elliot, Kero, Abby and I fall asleep! Sleep!"

Sami hit the card with the Clow wand, and everyone except Kero, Elliot, Abby, and Sami fell asleep. Sami and Elliot ran to where Abby was standing. Elliot said, "Clow card, get out of Abby!"

Abby shook her head, then charged at Elliot. She tried to punch Elliot in the face, but he easily blocked it. She sent several punches at Elliot, but he blocked those to. She tried to kick and punch him, but he kept blocking them. "Wow," Sami said, "He's a good fighter."

Suddenly, Elliot got hit hard, and is sent flying back into a tree. Sami called out, "Elliot!"

Elliot stood up and said, "I'm ok," before Abby started attacking him again. Sami said to Kero, "What can we do? He can't hold out much longer! He's getting tired!"

Kero said, "You can seal the card. You must figure out what card it is, then call out its name."

Sami thought, _What card is this? Obviously, it's a good fighter, but what card can do that? Wait a sec, I know!_

Sami called out, "Fight card," Abby turned and looked at her, "Leave Elliot alone!"

Suddenly, a bright light flew out of Abby, and she slumped to the ground. The Fight card jumped up and landed five feet in front of Sami. Sami said, "Fight card, return…."

The Fight card kicked the Clow wand out of Sami's hand. It then kicked Sami in the gut, sending her flying back. She landed on the ground with a thud, and had a hard time standing up. The Fight was about to kick Sami in the face, but Elliot punched it, so it's attention was drawn to Elliot. The Fight kicked Elliot in the face, knocking him unconscious. As he fell backward, Sami grabbed the Clow wand, jumped up, pulled out the Firey, and said, "Firey, stop the Fight card from attacking Elliot!"

Sami hit the card with the Clow wand, and the Firey flew out and binded the Fight. As it struggled to get free, Sami pulled the Clow wand over her head and said, "Fight card, return your power, confined! Fight!"

She pulled the Clow wand down, and the shape of a card formed at the end of it. The Fight card turned into wisps of light and flew at the card shape. When the light stopped, the Fight card flew at Sami, and she caught it. The Firey also returned to its card from. Sami ran to Elliot and said, "Don't worry, Elliot. I'll get you home."

Suddenly, Kero flew over and easily picked up Elliot. Sami said, "Wow, your strong."

Kero said, "Of course, I am the guardian of the Clow cards. Come on, I'll carry him to your house."

They set off to Sami's house. Before they got far, Terry jumped out of the bushes. He looked very scared. He said, "I saw the whole thing! You have a lot of explaining to do!"

Sami, who was both exasperated and exhausted, said, "Come to my house, and I will explain everything."

As they all went to Sami's house, nobody noticed the figure in the shadows. With a smirk, the figure said, "Heh, in over your head, Sami? Well, more fuel will be added to the fire soon enough."

-----------------------------------------------

After Sami, Kero, and Terry took care of Elliot, Sami explained everything that had happened to her since she got the Clow book from her grandparents. Terry remained in a state of shock throughout the whole story. At the end, he said, "And you managed to keep it a secret from everyone?"

Sami nodded and said, "Almost everyone."

"Well," Terry said, "I am going to help you in any way I can. I may not be magical, but I am sure I can do something."

"You could probably be our alibi," Sami muttered, not meaning for Terry to hear. "That would work," Terry responded, "Oh, and I have excellent hearing, too."

Right then, Elliot started to regain consciousness and said, "Where am I?"

Sami walked over to the couch, where they had laid him, sat down on the end by his feet, and said, "Don't worry, you are at my house. I called your family, and your brother will be here soon to pick you up. You got hurt pretty badly during the fight, but you will be better soon."

Elliot said, "Thank you, Sami," and then went back to sleep. Sami smiled and said, "Your welcome."

Behind her back, Terry made a vomiting gesture so that only Kero could see. Kero chuckled. A few minutes later, someone knocked at the door. Sami opened it, and saw a bigger version of Elliot. He said, "Greetings. My name is Eriol, and I am Elliot's older brother."

Sami said, "It's nice to meet you. Elliot is asleep on the couch."

Eriol walked in and picked up Elliot. He said, "Thank you for taking care of Elliot until I got here," and left. "What a stiff…….just like Elliot," Terry said. Sami giggled and said, "Elliot isn't a stiff, and neither is his brother. What do you think, Kero?"

When he didn't answer, Sami turned around and said his name again. He looked angry. Kero said, "I don't like that guy."

Sami sweatdropped and said, "That's what you said about Elliot when you first met him."

"That was different," Kero said, "I got a different feeling from Elliot. Elliot just seemed to be confused. But this guy is different. I can't quite put my paw on it, but he is definitely different. Be careful, Sami, for he is more than he seems."

Sami was a little scared by this, but she tried not to show it. She said, "I'll be careful," but she was thinking, _I really hope Kero is wrong about Eriol. He's Elliot's brother, after all. If we can't trust Elliot's own brother, then who can we trust?_


	7. chapter 6

The next day after school, Sami was working on her entry for the art competition. She was drawing some trees by her house. She had a regular pencil and colored pencils. Sami was almost done drawing the trunk and braches. Kero, who was watching her, said, "Wow, you are better at art then I thought. Think you could win?"

Taking it as a complement, Sami said, "Thanks, Kero. I dunno if I can win. It depends on how good everyone else is. I wonder what Elliot and everyone else is entering."

Sami sighed and said, "It's so peaceful today. And the fall trees look so beautiful! Don't you think so, Kero?"

"I'm more of a spring person myself," Kero said, "But it is pretty."

Sami reached to her side to pick up her pencil, but it wasn't there. "Kero," she said, "did you move my pencil?"

Kero shook his head. Sami said, "Well, it didn't just get up and walk away. Somebody had to have moved it."

"Well I didn't," Kero exclaimed, "Somebody else had to have."

"Very peculiar," Sami said, "Anyways, I have to go get another pencil."

Sami went in her house and got another pencil. When she got back outside, her original pencil was back where it had been. Sami said, "What's going on?"

----------------------------

Elliot was at home working on his entry for the art contest. He had found an old picture of his grandmother in the attic, and he was doing a painting of it. He was working on the background when he got a phone call from Sami. He said, "Sami? Why are you calling?"

"Elliot," Sami said, "some things kept moving around my house. Kero says it wasn't him, but I think he was playing a prank on me."

"……………You called me because you think Kero was playing a prank on you?"

"That's not the only reason!"

"Then what's the other reason?"

"…………………um…….I…er……..wanted to know what you were doing for the art competition!"

Elliot smirked. "That's top secret information, Sami."

Sami made a frustrated noise. She said, "Okay, Mr. Smarty pants! I have to go now! Bye!"

The sound of a click told Elliot that Sami had hung up. Elliot stared at the phone for a moment, then hung it up while saying, "Sami is very perplex…" 

He then noticed that his dry paintbrushes were gone. He said, "What's going on? Where did my paintbrushes go?"

Then, a thought crossed his mind. But that thought was quickly driven away with the shake of his head. "No way," Elliot said, "I am not going to believe that Kero snuck in here and stole my paintbrushes."

The image of Kero, dressed in all black and carrying paint brushes, appeared to Elliot, and he chuckled. Then he went off to find his missing paint brushes.

----------------------------

The next day at school, Terry, Sami, and Elliot found out that almost everyone entered in the contest had experienced similar situations. Sami thought to herself, "Could it be a clow card?"

Elliot said, "Maybe, but why would a clow card take art supplies and move them to other places?"

"Dunno," Sami said, "Maybe it likes art?"

Terry was about to respond, but the bell rang. Everybody headed off to class. In class, Sami couldn't concentrate. She kept wondering if it was a clow card that had caused all this trouble, or was it someone else trying to be funny. Eventually, the teacher said, "Do you know the answer, Sami?"

Sami snapping back to attention, said, "Um, 42 degrees?"

The whole class laughed. Mr. Tomika said, "We are not studying Math, Sami. We are studying history."

Sami blushed and said, "Oh……."

Mr. Tomika said, "Elliot, can you tell me the correct answer?"

Elliot nodded, and class went on as usual. Not much happened until Sami got home. Right when she walked in the door, she felt the presence of a clow card. She ran upstairs and tried to find Kero. Kero was sitting on Sami's bed, staring in amazement at the spot where Sami usually kept the clow book. Sami said, "Where's the clow book?!"

Kero said, "It….disappeared. I was sitting right here, and it just disappeared…."

In a state of shock, Sami said, "Where did it go?!"

Kero shook his head and said, "I dunno."

Sami grabbed Kero, ran downstairs, and stopped outside to look around. She had no clue as to where to find the book, so she just stood there. Kero said, "Try to hone in on the energy of the clow book!"

Sami tried Kero's idea, and she found that she could, though it was very faint, feel the presence of the book. So, she ran off in the direction that she thought she could feel it coming from. Kero noticed all the people around, so he ducked into the pocket of Sami's hoodie(1). Sami wasn't watching where she was going, and she bumped into a man. She said, "Sorry," then saw who it was she bumped into. "Mr. Sagami," Sami said, "I'm sorry."

In her mind, Sami panicked. _What is he doing here?!……oh wait, yeah. He moved here. I forgot._

"It's alright," Mr. Sagami said, "Just be more careful next time. Why are you in such a rush?"

Sami panicked. She couldn't tell him about the clow cards. So instead, she quickly thought up a story to tell him. While trying to look innocent, she said, "I'm going to my grandparents house to visit them."

Mr. Sagami smiled and said, "That's nice. Be careful," and went on his way.

Sami continued on. Then she realized that seeing her grandparents might actually be a good idea. So, she ran to her grandparent's house. Sami saw her grandpa first. She said, "Grandpa, the clow book is…"

"Missing," Syaoran finished for her, "I know. It appeared here a few minutes ago. Come in."

Sami went inside and saw that the clow book was laying on the coffee table in her grandparent's living room. Syaoran said, "It's the work of the Move card. The Move isn't very dangerous, but it can be annoying."

"Why did it make the clow book come here," Sami asked. Syaoran said, "Who knows. It might be because your Grandmother used to be the mistress of the cards, and The Move might have thought that the book still belonged to her. Or, it might just be coincidence."

Sami stayed for a few more minutes, then went off to find The Move. Her Grandfather had said that it can move things, so Sami wanted to capture it before it caused too much mischief. Suddenly, she got that feeling like a clow card was near again. She looked around for any sign that a clow card was near. She saw noting suspicious. Thinking that it wasn't that big of a deal, she continued walking home. When she rounded the next corner, she saw that she was very wrong. All down the street things had been moved out of place, and everyone was in a panic. Sami saw a pocketbook disappear from a lady's hands and reappear across the street in a bin of grapes. She also saw a stop sign disappear from a post and reappear in a car window. Sami said to herself, "The Move card…."

Kero flew out of Sami's pocket. Since everyone else seemed to be focused on the other stuff, it was alright for Kero to be in the open. Kero looked around, and said, "I guess it can do more damage than the not-so-little-anymore-kid said."

Sami sweat dropped. She then said, "But what do I do? How do I capture it?"

"Well," Kero said, "Like all the cards, you have to get it into it's true form first. You can do that in several ways. One is weakening it. After you weaken it, you call out it's name, and it will show you it's true form."

Sami tried to think of a way to weaken the card. She watched things disappear from one place and reappear in another. Every time it was about to move something, the object began to glow. Sami muttered, " That glow is starting to get annoying….."

Suddenly, an idea came to her. Sami said, "Kero! Didn't the card want to move the clow book back to my Grandma's house?" 

"Yeah," Kero said, "Why?"

"Because I got an idea," Sami said as she ducked into an alleyway. When she was sure nobody could see her, she released the clow wand. Sami then used the sleep card to put all of the people in the area to sleep. She didn't want anyone seeing her use magic. After everyone was asleep, she came out of the alleyway and set the clow book down on a board that was over a barrel of water. Sami pulled out the thunder card, and waited. Suddenly, the barrel of water began to glow. Sami said, "Stop the Move card, Thunder!"

Sami hit it with the clow wand, and the Thunder zapped the barrel of water. It stopped glowing. Sami called out, " Move card, show yourself!"

A weird stand with wings appeared. Sami sealed the card as she said, " Return to the form you were destined to be! Clow card!"

Soon, the Move card was back in card form. Sami stuck the card in her pocket and turned to walk home. Then, she saw that all the stuff was still moved around. Sami sweat dropped. "I guess I better switch everything back," She said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon, all the people woke up. None of them knew that anything was wrong. Sami was long gone by the time they woke up. As she walked through the park (Kero was back in her hoodie pocket), she said, " That was interesting…."

"Well," Kero said, "you beat that challenge, despite the fact that it was a pretty easy one. Just be glad that it was not too hard."

Sami said, "Well, I'm glad it's over," and looked at her wristwatch. She said, " Oh no!"

"What's wrong," Kero asked as he flew out of Sami's pocket. Sami, who looked very distressed, said, "I have to get home!"

"Why?!"

"I Have to finish my entry for the art competition!"

Kero face faulted. Sami ran home, dragging Kero along with her.


	8. chapter 7

Author: 0.0 I completely forgot I had this! ^^; Sorry for making you wait! I was just looking up some reference info for a paper, and I came across this. Turns out I had finished this chapter a while ago. --; man, I feel like a baka now….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just like any other day, Sami went to school with Elliot and Terry. On this particular day, Sami was thinking about her experiences over the last 2 months. _wow, _she thought, _It's already been 2 months since I released all the cards, and I only have nine of them back! I wonder how long it will take me to get them all. Years? I guess I better plan on it being a long time._

Sami glanced over at Elliot and Terry. She smiled and thought, _well, I am glad I have friends to help me. There is no way I could do this all on my own._

Terry said, "did you guys already finish your pieces of artwork for the competition?"

Elliot nodded and said, "I finished it last night."

Sami said, "yeah, I'm done. I hope it's good."

"well, let's see," Terry said, "I can tell you how it stands against everybody else's work."

Sami seriously doubted this, but she showed them anyways. Terry said, " that's a pretty good drawing. Let's see yours, Elliot."

Elliot said, "it's not that good, but alright."

He showed them, and they were silent out of shock. Sami said, "That's a great painting, Elliot! Who is it of?"

Elliot blushed and said, "it's nothing, really. It's just a painting of my grandmother. I found an old picture of her in the attic. I showed it to my grandfather, and he said that my grandmother was the same age we are in that picture."

Sami said, "What was her name?"

Elliot said, "I think it was Tomoyo, why?"

"Just wondering," Sami replied, " I bet she must have been popular in her day."

"With the guys at least," Terry said, "I bet all the guys wanted to be her boyfriend."

Elliot said, "I wonder what it was like back then. From the picture I found, it looks like most of everything was the same. Even the school uniforms were the same."

__

hmmmm, Sami thought, _Maybe if there is a card that involves manipulating time, I could go back in time and meet all the people from that time. I could take Elliot, I guess, since he seems interested in seeing his grandma at that age._

At school, they met up with Abby and Cassie, who were getting their pieces of art ready for display outside. As they were setting up, Abby said, "I dunno if mine is good or not, but I thought it was worth a try," as she pulled out a photograph of a beach at sunset. Terry looked at it and said, "it's really good, Abby. Do you take pictures often?"

Abby blushed and said, "yeah, I like to take pictures. It's my hobby, I guess."

Sami put her drawing up to the left of Abby's picture, and Elliot put his painting to the left of Sami's. Cassie, who had put hers to the right of Abby's, said, "well, I know my drawing is great! Check it out!"

They all looked at Cassie's drawing, and they all sweat dropped. "that's…..great," Sami managed to say, but in reality she was thinking, _Dang, a 5 year old could have drawn better._

Terry, who had decided to be Mr. Honest, said, "That's not all that great, Cassie."

Cassie got fumed and hit him on the head. She then walked off to class. Terry said, "What was that for?"

Elliot shook his head and said, "you really need to learn the meaning of the word tact, Terry."

------------------------------------

The morning went on for the most part uneventful. At lunch, Cassie, Abby, Terry, Sami, and Elliot were all sitting together talking about different things. Cassie said, "The book report is due in three days. I think I will start reading it tonight."

Sami said, "You waited until now to start reading? I finished a week ago. I just have to write the report."

"Same here," Terry said. Abby said, "I finished my book already, and I wrote the report."

"I did too," Elliot said, "All on the day it was assigned."

Everybody stared at Elliot. Cassie asked, "Why?"

Elliot responded, "Well, my parents say that homework is more important than fun, so I always have to do my homework the moment I get home. I can't do too much after school until my homework is done."

Cassie held up her book and said, "I don't think I could finish this all in one night!"

Right then, Sami felt the presence of a clow card. It was very weak, as if it hadn't been fully activated yet. She looked quickly to Elliot, who just nodded. Sami then quickly turned back to the conversation. Terry, who obviously was trying to get on Cassie's good side after that morning, said, "I know who the judges are going to be for the art competition."

"Really," Sami said, "Who?"

"Well," Terry said, "There will be Mr. Tahu, Mr. Sagami, Mrs. Linha, Mrs. Donoa, and Mr. Tomika. So, the winners must get the vote of three of the teachers or principle."

"I wonder why the principle is being a judge," Abby said.

"He likes art," Cassie offered, "or maybe he just likes to judge stuff, I dunno."

Elliot finished his meal and said, "I have some work to do in the library, so se you all in class."

As he walked by Sami, he whispered, "Meet me in the library," so that only Sami could hear. She finished her meal and said, "I think I'll go work on my book report. See yah."

Sami got up and walked to the library. As she was leaving, Cassie called out, "Don't go smooching in the back of the library with your lover boy!"

Sami turned bright red, but didn't say anything. She walked to the library, having a private conversation with Elliot as they walked. Elliot whispered, " there's a clow card nearby."

"I know," Sami said, "I felt it too. I wonder what card it is."

"Dunno," Elliot replied, "But we better be careful."

--------------------------------

Later that day, after she got home, Sami told Kero about everything that had happened. Kero said, "Sounds suspicious. It was a weak feeling, right? Then it will probably appear within the next 24 hours, fully active and ready to cause damage. Don't go anywhere without the clow cards nearby."

Sami said, "Alright, Kero. I won't. But how will we know when it is going to appear?"

"You'll be able to sense it," Kero said. Sami stared at the guardian beast for a second, then said, "That's it?"

"Yup."

------------------------------

Cassie, who was at her house, sat down at her desk. She had almost finished reading the book at school, but she had a little bit left. As she got to the end of the book, she saw that there wasn't an ending. She said aloud, "this must be a really old book! You write your own ending!"

Cassie pulled out a pencil and began writing. **_all of the people were afraid of the wizard _she wrote, _for it's power was incredible. He moved like a shadow, and attacked anyone who stood in his way. This day he targeted_**

"hmmmmmmmm," Cassie said, "What should the name of the girl be? I know! I'll call her Sami! Sami would be glad to be in this book!"

**__**

A girl named Sami, who had long brown hair, and sparkling blue eyes. This 12 year old had no idea what she was going to get her.

-----------------------------------------

Sami jumped up suddenly. She had been reading a book, but something startled her. Kero said, "What's wrong?"

"I dunno," Sami said, "But something is!"

"I feel something," Kero said, "It feels like a clow card!"

Sami said, "Should I warn Elliot?"

"Might be a good idea."

**__**

The wizard suddenly appeared behind her as a shadowy figure

A shadowy figure suddenly appeared behind Sami. "Sami look out," Kero called out.

**__**

It grabbed her, and took her away into the darkness

The shadowy figure grabbed Sami and dragged her into the shadows and out her window. Sami dropped her cell phone in the process. Kero called out, "Sami! Answer me," but it was to no prevail. Sami was long gone. Kero picked up the cell phone and called Elliot."

---------------------------------

"Now what," Cassie thought, "it needs some romance…….. I know! I'll bring in Elliot, Sami's boyfriend! That should make things exciting!"

Cassie giggled and said, "Now that would be interesting! Sami and Elliot. I wonder if that could ever happen in real life."

------------------------------------

Elliot picked up his cell phone, and he was surprised to hear Kero on the other end. Elliot said, "Kero? What's going on?"

"Sami's been kidnapped," Kero yelled out.

Elliot jumped up in surprise. He said, "What?! Kidnapped?!"

"Yeah," Kero said, "I think it was a clow card, but I'm not sure which one. Maybe it was the shadow card."

Elliot said, "Do you have the clow cards?"

"No," Kero said, "They are with Sami!"

"Meet me at my house," Elliot said, "And we will go looking for Sami. There is no way they could have gotten far."

**__**

The wizard suddenly appeared behind Elliot, who was wondering where his love was

Elliot hung up the phone. He began to pace his room. He thought, _Figures. Sami just had to be the one who got kidnapped. Man, Wherever she is, I hope she's alright. I wonder where my love has gone._

Elliot suddenly turned bright red and said aloud, "Where did that come from?!"

A shadowy figure appeared behind Elliot. He felt it's presence before he saw it. 

**__**

Elliot turned to the wizard and said, "What did you do with my love, Sami?!"

Elliot turned to face the shadowy figure. He said, "What did you do with my love, Sami?!"

Immediately, he clamped his hands over his mouth and turned redder.

**__**

He then saw Sami, who was conscious and being held captive by the wizard.

Elliot then noticed Sami, who was awake and bug eyed. He then realized that she had heard what he had said, and turned even more red (if possible). Sami stared at Elliot for a moment, then said, "Since when have I been "your love"?"

Elliot said, "I'm not saying that purposely, something is making me!"

**__**

The wizard fled from Elliot's house, and ran to the park.

Suddenly, the shadowy figure jumped out of Elliot's window and fled down the street. Elliot ran downstairs and went after it. He didn't even answer his brother when he asked where he was going. Along the way, Kero joined up with him and said, "Where are we going?"

"We are flowing the thing that kidnapped Sami," Elliot responded.

**__**

Elliot followed the wizard. At the park, Elliot saw that Sami had been knocked unconscious and was tied to a rope that was hanging from the sky.

When they finally caught up with the shadowy figure, Sami had been knocked unconscious and was tied up by a rope hanging from the sky. The shadowy figure was hovering below her.

**__**

Elliot cried out, "Let my love go!"

Elliot looked at the wizard and cried out, "Let my love go," then immediately covered his mouth, red once more.

Kero went bug eyed and said, "What?!"

"Oh no," Elliot said, "it's not what you think!"

"There is no way in this lifetime that I would ever let you be with Sami!"

"I have no desire to be with Sami," Elliot said as he shook his head vigorously, "something is making me say all that stuff!"

"Something is making you," Kero said questioningly, "I wonder……."

**__**

The wizard shook his head, and he fired a blast of lightning at Elliot.

Suddenly, the shadowy figure shook his head and fired a blast of lightning at Elliot. He dodged it easily, and he said, "What card is this?!"

"Good question," Kero said. Elliot stared at Kero, then said in an angry tone, "You are the guardian of these cards, and you don't even know what card is attacking?!"

"Shut up! It's been a while since I've seen all the cards in action!"

"You really are pathetic!"

**__**

The Wizard suddenly let Sami fall to the ground, thinking that if Elliot was preoccupied, he wouldn't be able to save her.

Suddenly, Sami was let loose, and Sami fell to the ground. Elliot rushed over to her and caught her. But, since he was preoccupied, he couldn't defend against the figure. The figure prepared to attack. Elliot said, "Crap! Sami! Wake up, Sami!"

Sami stirred. She looked at Elliot with a bleary look. She said, "…Elliot? W.what happened?"

"A lot," Elliot said, "I'll explain everything later. But right now I need your help. This …thing is going to kill us if we don't do something. Do you think that you can do some magic?"

Sami nodded. She stood up, released the clow wand and said, "What now? You want me to fight it?"

It was obvious that she was still affected by her temporary slumber. Kero sweat dropped and said, "Trap it!"

Sami pulled out the Thunder card and said, "Trap the Create! Thunder!"

Thunder flew everywhere, then turned into one bolt that encircled the mysterious figure. It was trapped, and it couldn't move an inch.

------------------------

Cassie yawned. She said, "Time to go to bed."

She shut the book, and went to sleep.

-------------------------------

The figure began to disappear. Kero then snapped his paw and said, "I got it! It's the Create card!"

"the Create card," Elliot and Sami both said. Kero nodded and said, "It can make whatever the user wants a reality. But, as soon as the user stops using it, the things it creates disappear. So, you better seal it quick!"

Sami nodded and said, "Return to the form you were destined to be! Clow card," As the Create was sealed away. It went to Elliot. He caught it and said, "Looks like the card thought I did more work."

He handed the card to Sami. Sami said, "But the card thought you did more work. You deserve to keep it."

Elliot shook his head and said, "They were yours to begin with. And it wouldn't help me, anyways. I'm not the one who is destined to become the mistress of the clow cards."

Sami said, "Thanks for saving me."

Elliot blushed and said, "It was nothing, really………."

Kero made a gagging noise and said, "Alright, enough of the love scene. Let's go get some ice cream!"

Sami giggled and said, "With all the ice cream you eat, it's a surprise you don't get chubby."

Elliot stifled a laugh. Kero said, "Something funny, Buddy boy?"

Elliot said, "Yeah, you. You eat more than you fight."

Sami tried not to laugh. Kero said, "I'll show you funny," and bit Elliot's finger. Elliot cried out in pain and tried to shake off Kero. He said, "Let go, that hurts!"

Sami was laughing very hard by now. She said, "Come on you guys! We are supposed to be friends."

Kero let go and said, "Fine, but I want ice cream!"

Elliot rubbed his finger and was about to say, "What you need is some Prozac," but thought better of it. He just scowled at Kero. Sami said, "Come on, I have ice cream at my house."

As they all walked to Sami's house, Sami saw something out of the corner of her eye. A guy who looked like Eriol was standing in a tree. A second after she saw it, the guy disappeared. Elliot said, "What's wrong?"

Sami said, "Nothing, I just thought I saw Eriol."

"Eriol's at my house," Elliot said, "He couldn't be out."

"If you say so," Sami said, but she wasn't so sure. _I know I saw him_, Sami thought, _But how could it be him? And what would he be doing out this late at night?_


	9. chapter 8

For the next week, things went on uneventful for the most part. As it had turned out, Elliot won first prize, and Abby had won third. Cassie was still sulking around about not winning anything. Terry kept trying to get Elliot to spend his prize money on frivolous things, and Sami was busy being the voice of reason. It was on that particular Tuesday that things changed from the peace that had been around for the last week. "Alright class," Mr. Tomika said, "today we are going on a field trip."

The whole class cheered. Then, Mr. Tomika said, "We will be going to the history museum," and the whole class groaned. Mr. Tomika answered the groans by saying, "now, now. Let's be on our best behavior."

Everyone in the class boarded the bus. As she was getting on, Sami felt something. Elliot, who was right behind her, obviously felt it too, because he stopped for a moment. Terry, who had gotten on right before Sami, said, "What's wrong?"

Sami shook her head and said, "Nothing. Come on, Elliot."

They all got on and sat down. Sami sat next to Elliot, with Abby and Terry behind them, and Cassie in front of them. While they were all distracted, Sami said, "Did you feel that, too?"

Elliot nodded and said, "Something is up. Possibly a clow card. I'm not sure, though. It's hard to tell.

Sami nodded. "I know what you mean. Sometimes I get that feeling, and its difficult to tell if it's a clow card or not. Well, either way, I'm prepared. I brought the cards with me."

------------------------------------------------

The bus arrived at the museum at ten in the morning. Mr. Tomika said, " you may go about on your own. We will be studying the medieval time period, so stay in the medieval area."

The five friends went off on their own. Eventually, Abby and Cassie went off with some other friends, so Sami and Elliot filled Terry in on what was going on. After they told him, he said, "Cool, I can finally do what I have been wanting to do."

"And what would that be," Elliot asked.

"Tape you guys catching a card," Terry responded as he held up a camcorder. Sami and Elliot both sweat dropped as Terry continued, "I talked to Great-aunt Sakura a few days ago, and she said that her cousin Tomoyo taped her as she caught cards. She also said that Tomoyo made costumes, but I'm not good at sewing. Maybe Abby could do that…"

Sami then said, "You know, it can be kind of dangerous….. And who would you show the tape to, anyways?"

Terry shrugged as he turned on the camcorder. He looked through the lens and said, "I wonder what card it will be……"

"The Shadow," Sami suggested. 

"Maybe, but it would be cooler if it were the Evil," Terry said, his voice sounding evil-like at the end. Sami laughed and said, "I don't think that there's an 'Evil' card, Terry."

Elliot, however, wasn't taking part in the conversation. He was deep in thought. _Tomoyo? That was my Grandmother's name…no, it's not the same person. It can't be. I'm just imagining things._

Elliot pushed the thought out of his head and continued on with his friends. They all went to a new room full of weapons. Terry gave the room a once around, then his eyes fell upon a sword. It was thin, and it had wings on the handle. "Cool," Terry said as he put down his camcorder, "A sword."

Elliot rolled his eyes and said, "Thank you, master of the obvious…."

Terry leaned over the glass barrier to pick it up. "Don't touch it," Sami whined, "We'll get in trouble!"

"Relax," Terry said as he picked up the sword, "It's not like I'm going to try to kill anybody."

He stood up straight with the sword in his hand and studied it carefully. As he was, he said, "Wow, imagine the guy that owned this thing. He must have been a pretty good ……"

Sami and Elliot looked at Terry when he stopped short. "A pretty good what," Elliot asked. Terry turned to face them. His eyes looked empty. Sami said, "Terry, what's wrong?"

Terry brought the sword up, and attacked Sami. Sami just barely got out of the way. Elliot quickly released his sword and said, "What do you think you are doing?!"

Terry turned and attacked Elliot. Elliot could just barely block the blows that Terry dealt. _Since when has he been a good swordsman, _Sami thought. Suddenly, it clicked in Sami's mind. "Don't hurt him," Sami called out, "He's under the influence of a card!"

"alright," Elliot said, sounding a tad irritated, "Then what do I do?!"

"Just hold on," Sami said as she pulled out the clow key. She released the clow wand, and then pulled out the Sleep. "put Terry to Sleep," Sami said. Sami hit the card with the clow wand, and a flash of blue flew over to Terry. Soon, he was asleep. Sami said, "Sword card! Show yourself!"

In a flash of light, a sword surrounded by chains appeared in front of Sami. Sami brought the clow wand over her head and said, "Return to the form you were destined to be! Clow card!"

After she sealed the card and it went to her, Terry began to wake up. He said, "What happened."

"The Sword card possessed you, and we stopped it," Elliot said simply. Terry looked disappointed. He said, "Aw, man! And I missed it, too!"

Sami and Elliot sweat dropped. Right then, Abby came running around the corner. Sami and Elliot quickly hid their stuff. Abby said, "Come on, let's go already! I heard that there is some cool stuff up ahead!"

-----------------------------------------------

After they had lunch, Mr. Tomika said, "Alright, we will be here one more hour, then we are going back to school. Go ahead and look around a little more."

Cassie sighed and said, "This is boring!"

"Beats being in class," Terry said as he studied his camcorder.

"Well," Cassie said, "Abby and I are going ahead. Catch up with us later, alright."

They all agreed, and Abby and Cassie left. Elliot said, "Now that we caught the card, it's kind of boring here."

Sami was about to agree, but she suddenly felt the presence of another card. Elliot felt it, too. Terry looked back and forth at them and said, "What? What is it? Is it another card?"

"I'm not sure," Sami said. Terry grinned and said, " well, if it is, then I guess I'll get to tape you guys in action after all."

They all got up and began to walk in the direction that everybody else had gone in. there was nobody else around. As soon as they reached the doorway, they ran into some kind of invisible force field. Terry rubbed his nose and said, "What was that?"

Elliot looked at the doorway for a moment, his eyes full of curiosity. He tried to push his hand through the doorway, but it ran into the invisible wall again. He said, "Curious…. I wonder what it is…"

"Could it be a clow card," Terry asked. "Maybe," Elliot said, "But I'm not sure. It might be some kind of magic."

"Who would be using magic," Sami said, "It's not like a lot of people have magical powers."

Elliot laughed. He said, "Well, there are definitely more people in this city that can use magic. My family, for one. Well, my brother, father, and grandfather, anyways. My mother is a normal person."

"your not suggesting that Eriol is doing this," Sami asked. 

"Maybe," Elliot said as he rolled his eyes, "This would be his idea of a joke."

"you guys have weird families," Terry said.

"that's an understatement," Elliot muttered. Silently, he added, _How about 'your family follows a cult which is very dangerous and kills lots of people.' Yeah, that'd be more accurate._

"Well," Sami said, "If it is a magical shield, then we can break it with our magic."

She released the clow wand and pulled out the sword card. "This card should do the trick. Sword!"

Sami hit the card with the wand, and it turned into a sword. It looked exactly like the one Terry had used to attack her earlier. She walked up to the doorway, pulled the sword over her head, and said, "Watch and learn, boys."

She brought the sword down hard, breaking the barrier. Elliot said in a sarcastic voice, "Bravo," While Terry taped the whole thing. Sami walked through the doorway and said, "Come on, let's go find that clow card!"

Elliot followed her, but when Terry tried to, he ran into the barrier again. He said, "You guys, I'm stuck!"

Sami went to cut the barrier again, but this time her sword just hit the surface. Sami said, "What's going on?! That worked a second ago!"

"this is definitely the work of some kind of sorcerer," Elliot said, "He's making this a challenge for us."

Soon, the room that Terry was in began to fill with a light mist. When the mist cleared, he was unconscious. Sami said, "Terry, wake up!"

She went to go knock on the barrier, but it was no longer there. She fell flat on her face. Elliot released his sword and said, "Get ready, Sami."

Sami stood up, and looked where Elliot was looking. There was a figure standing in the shadows above a window. He was hard to see, but one could tell that he was male, and he was an older teenager, maybe 17 or 18. He also had glasses. He said, "So we finally meet, Li Samantha. I have been waiting a long time to meet the fool who thinks that she can become the new mistress of the clow cards."

"Hey," Sami yelled out, "I'm not a fool!"

The figure laughed. He said, "Do you really think you have the power to capture all of the cards? Even with the help of that traitor Elliot, you will never get them all back."

Sami said, "What do you mean, traitor Elliot?!"

The figure laughed and said, "you mean he never told you?! Ha! You don't even know the truth about your own friends! You are an idiot!"

Sami said, "Come down here and fight!"

"I will," the figure said, "But not today. So long, idiot Sami and Traitor Elliot."

The figure disappeared. Sami looked over to Elliot, who looked extremely pale. "How…..does he know….." Elliot stammered. Sami said, "What did he mean when he said you are a traitor?"

Elliot shook his head and said, "It's nothing important. Just something from a long time ago. Don't worry about it. We should worry about that other clow card that is still loose in the museum."

"That jerk," Sami said, "Who does he think he is?! I'm no idiot!"

Sami kicked a nearby trash can, but she hurt her foot. She cursed and fell to the ground, unable to balance on one foot. Elliot looked at the trash can for a moment, then he got an idea. He walked up to the trash can and tried to drop a wrapper in it. It rolled off the side of what looked like an invisible shield. Elliot smiled and said, "I believe we found our clow card."

He brought his sword over his head, then brought it down hard. It broke the shield, and a giant wing covered in chains appeared before them. Elliot said, "It's the Shield card. Hurry and seal it, Sami."

Sami stood up and sealed the card. It went to Elliot. He said, "Yet again a card thinks I am more worthy to be it's master," then handed it to Sami. Right about then, Terry woke up. He said, "I missed it again, didn't I?"

Sami and Elliot nodded. Sami said, "Look on the bright side, I only have twelve of the cards. You still have a lot more chances to tape a capture."

" I guess so," Terry said as he stood up, "What card was it?"

"The Shield," Elliot said, "Very symbolic. Both the Sword and the Shield found in a museum."

"But something bugs me," Elliot said in a thoughtful manner, "Why would the Shield be around a trash can? I mean, it's only supposed to protect what is precious…"

Then, Sami said, "Maybe….there's something in the trash can?"

Elliot thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "No way. I'm not digging through trash to see if something valuable is in it."

Terry sighed and said, "I'll do it."

He didn't have to dig through much, though. Near the top was a photo album. Sami recognized it immediately. "Oh! That's Abby's photo album! It has pictures of her brother, who is off in the military right now. Those pictures mean a lot to her!"

Elliot said, "Well, I guess the Shield **was** protecting something valuable."

-----------------------------------

The ride home was pretty quiet. Abby was very happy to get her photo album back. She had said "thank you" no less than 20 times. Other than that, it was uneventful. The whole class was bored out of their minds. Sami and Elliot didn't even talk. Instead, Sami used the time of quiet to think about the events of the day. _I wonder what that guy meant, _Sami thought, _Elliot, a traitor? A traitor to what? Could this be the big secret the Kero was talking about? Boy, I have more questions now than before. I'll have to look into this a little more._

----------------------------------

When Elliot arrived at home that day, nobody was home except for himself and his Grandpa. Elliot said, "I'm home, Grandfather."

"Elliot," his Grandpa said, "Come into my room for a moment."

This surprised Elliot, because nobody except for his dad was allowed to go into his Grandpa's room. Elliot never knew why that was, either. In his family, when an order was given, you didn't ask questions. Elliot entered cautiously. The room was musty and dark, except for the light coming from the window. His grandpa was sitting on the windowsill. Except for the fact that his hair was all silver, he didn't look that old. There was just a few wrinkles here and there. He said, "Elliot, I have some things to tell you. Sit down."

Elliot sat down on the edge of his grandpa's bed. Elliot said, "What is it, Grandfather?"

"You have heard of the Clow Reed, right," his grandpa asked. Elliot nodded. What magic-user didn't know of Clow Reed? His grandpa said, "Well, I am half of the reincarnation of the Clow Reed."

Elliot was very surprised by this. He didn't know that Clow Reed had been reincarnated. This fact meant that his Grandfather was very powerful. He didn't say anything, though. His grandpa continued, "When I was younger, it was my duty to provide the situations for the new card mistress to change the Clow cards into Star cards. I did this with the help of my two companions: Spinnel Sun and Ruby Moon. Then, after all of the cards were transformed, I gave half of my power to The card mistresses' Father and went back to England. I thought my job was done. I was very wrong. A few years after I left, horrible things happened. Things to horrible to describe. It was all the work of a group called the Dark Sorcerers. They changed me greatly. They killed many who I held dear. Your grandmother, your uncle and aunts….. Your father was my only child left. Soon after they did all of this, they disappeared. I thought they were gone forever, but now they are beginning to regroup. They know the Star cards have changed back into Clow cards and have been released. I believe that they are the ones who caused the transformation of the cards, even though few have the power to do so. If I am right….You need to be prepared. The new child chosen by Keroberos(1) is in great danger. I already know Syaoran gave you his sword, so I am counting on you to help this new child."

Elliot was to stunned to speak. His grandpa said, "You will face many trials, and You won't be able to succeed on your own. Therefore, I will give you a guardian of your own."

Elliot's grandpa waved his hand around a little, then held it palm up at eye level. Soon, a black creature with wings appeared in his palm. It looked like a cat, but it had small, translucent wings on it's back. It looked like it was asleep. "this is Spinnel, the chosen form of Spinnel Sun. His nickname is Suppi, though he doesn't like that name too much. When he changes, he becomes quite larger and more powerful. Suppi, wake up."

The little creature snapped to life. He said, "Master, please don't call me by that name."

Elliot's Grandpa smiled and said, "I want you to meet my grandson, Elliot."

Elliot did a short wave and said, "Hi………."

"You will be his guardian from now on," Elliot's grandpa said, "He needs you more than I do."

"Alright," Suppi said reluctantly, then flew over to Elliot and landed on his shoulder. 

"Stay hidden from the rest of the family, especially my son and oldest grandson," Elliot's grandpa said, "Speaking of which, you might want to go hide. The rest of the family is going to be home soon."

"Alright," Elliot said, and turned to leave.

"Be very careful," Elliot's grandpa said as he left the room, "The Dark Sorcerers are a very dangerous group. Do not ever doubt your purpose in this world, or else they will use that doubt to benefit themselves. They can twist even the slightest bit of self-questioning and cause it to be your downfall. They are closer than you think, Elliot."

"I'll be careful," Elliot said as he closed the door behind himself and ran to his room. He closed the door behind himself, and sat down on his bed. "This is big," he said, "Very big. Even bigger than I originally thought."

Suppi flew from Elliot's shoulder and sat down on his desk. He said, "How are things going with the Star cards?"

"Well," Elliot said, " They turned back into Clow cards, and Sami accidentally let them loose. So far, we have managed to get 12 of them back."

"Then there is a long way to go," Suppi said, "Before the danger is gone."

Elliot nodded. He then said, "What do you want me to call you, anyways? Grandfather said that your nickname was Suppi, but he also said you don't like it."

"He was correct," Suppi said, "I don't like being called Suppi."

Elliot said, "How about I just call you Spinnel? Grandfather said that it was your real name."

"That would be alright," Spinel said, " It's a lot better than Suppi, that's for sure."

Elliot suddenly felt a strong power enter the house. "Dad's home," Elliot said, "We better be careful now. I'll call Sami and see if she can come out. Then I'll be able to introduce you two."

Elliot picked up his cell phone and dialed Sami's number. When Sami answered, he said, "Sami, can you come out? I have to show you something."

"Not today," Sami said, "I'm in hot water with my dad. What do you have to show me?"

"I can't tell you over the phone," Elliot said, "I'll just bring it to school tomorrow. Bring Kero to school, also."

"Alright, see you then," Sami said, then she hung up. Elliot hung up the phone and said, "You'll meet her tomorrow."

A moment later, someone knocked on the door. The voice of his brother Eriol said, " Munchkin, dinner is almost ready."

"Alright," Elliot said, "I'm coming," then he whispered to Spinel, "Will you be alright for a while?"

"Just give me a book and I'll be alright," Spinel responded. Elliot took a book off his bookshelf and said, "I'll bring you some dinner."

He then went downstairs to eat dinner. As he was eating, he was thinking, _This is big! If what grandfather said is true, then we are in big trouble! I hope we can handle this. And I wonder what he meant by 'they are closer than you think'……_

Elliot was snapped back to the scene when Eriol was in the middle of a conversation with their parents. "Yeah, the club is great. We do a lot of stuff. Like today, we helped out at the park."

"Is that so," Elliot's father said, "Sounds like the club is doing pretty well. Hey Elliot, remember the group I am a member of?"

Elliot nodded. "yeah, it's called 'The Sources of Night,' right?"

His father said, "Yes, that's it. Well, the club your brother is in is actually part of the group. You should consider joining, Elliot."

"I'll think about it," Elliot said, though he had no notion in his mind of doing anything of the sort. Not only was that group bad news, he also had way too many things to do as it was! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(1) I do not know what his Japanese name is! Will someone tell me?


End file.
